Television's 'Glee' making the move to concert stage and film

FoxHarry Shum of the popular Fox televisision series "Glee" is taking part in a concert tour, which comes to the Mohegan Sun Arena on Monday.

Get ready to Gleek out!

The New Directions glee club from the FOX smash hit “Glee,” accompanied by the Dalton Academy Warblers, will perform at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. on Monday night. The performance, part of the “Glee! Live! In Concert!” tour, is sold out.

“We’re all excited,” said Harry Shum Jr., who plays Mike Chang, in a telephone interview from Los Angeles after a dance rehearsal for a performance created by Shum.

“We’re playing bigger venues and arenas this year. Last year, we were playing for smaller audiences,” said Shum, adding that the tour will journey to Europe after its initial 18 North American dates. “We’re jumping into a whole new world.”

Mike Chang is best known as the New Directions dancer who lacks the ability to sing.

“Mike is a very fun, loving guy who stands up for his friends and the glee club. I think being part of glee is very important to him. He tries to be there for everyone,” Shum said.

Some of Mike’s dance partners have included his girlfriend Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris) and a mop which he used as prop during a performance of Jack Johnson’s “Bubble Toes.”

“The mop was pretty cool,” Shum said with a laugh. “I dance with Jenna a lot. I think it would be cool to dance with Mark (Salling, who plays Noah Puckerman) or Chris (Colfer, who plays Kurt Hummel).”

Another co-star who Shum looks forward to busting a move with is Kevin McHale who plays Artie Abrams.

Shum danced with McHale during the performance of Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T” which Artie and Mike performed for their girlfriends in the Valentine’s Day episode titled “Silly Love Songs.”

“I’m so excited to perform ‘P.Y.T.’,” Shum said of which song he’s most looking forward to performing on tour. “I’m also a little scared for that. ... I have to remember to have fun and perform, whatever happens happens.”

If you’re were unable to score tickets for the concert tour, don’t worry.

“Glee Live! 3D!” will be released in theaters on Aug. 12, featuring footage from the current tour.
“We wanted to do this for the fans who weren’t able to make it to the show,” Shum said. “It’s cool because it’s watching a concert as close as you can get.”

Looking back, Shum said “Glee’s” second season, which aired its finale on May 24, was a season of development.

“Season Two made the most growth. I felt like so much happened that I almost forgot that it happened,” Shum said. “It was amazing the amount of guest stars we had on the show and songs we were able to do.”

“I’m glad people are tuning in, I’m so glad to be part of it,” he added.

Shum also commented on his favorite episode of the season.

“‘Duets’ was such a fun episode. It was one of the first episodes where you got to know my character better. There was a story within each character in that episode.”

In the episode, Mike and Tina perform a duet of “Sing!” from “A Chorus Line.”

“I hope Mike gets to sing again,” Shum said. “I thought there was a point where he was going to but it didn’t work out. I always ask Ryan (Murphy, the show’s creator) if I can and he keeps saying ‘I don’t know.’”

He added, “Whatever they want to do, I’m down for.”

Although Mike has been referred to on the show’s as the glee club’s “dancing Asian,” Shum does not identify solely with that aspect of his talent.

“I see myself as an entertainer. I’m an actor who can also dance. I started acting first,” he said. “The way I dance, there’s a lot of acting involved. I don’t like dancing just to dance. I like utilizing movement.”

Shum, who had a culturally diverse childhood, says his desire to perform has lived within him all his life.

“My parents were born in China and moved to Costa Rica because my uncle moved there and said it was good for business. I have two sisters who were born there. Spanish is my first language.”

“I never felt like an outsider but I was. I moved to America when I was six or seven. I learned Chinese and English,” he said. “I respect and love the diversity.”

“I never thought of it as a full-on career,” Shum added of his desire to become an entertainer.

“I loved performing and trying to be creative. People would tell me I could make money off of it and I was always surprised.”

Shum hopes that “Glee” can be a life changing experience.

“I want to say thank you to the fans for their support but they already know that. For me, this experience has changed my life.”

Although no one knows what Season Three might have in store, Shum offered his predictions.

“We all turn into secret agents and blow stuff up,” he joked.

“I would love to do a huge, huge musical number that blows everything away. Like a re-creation of ‘West Side Story.’ We can ‘Glee’-ify it.”